


Familiar Face

by hinamii



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Awkwardness, Drabble, Fluff, High School, M/M, School Dance, Sexual Harassment, hide saves the day, like always lmao, the punch isn't actually spiked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 05:24:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5035525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hinamii/pseuds/hinamii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Kaneki."</p><p>"...What?"</p><p>Hide placed his hands squarely on his friend's shoulders. "You are not spending the first dance of your first year of high school in the <i>library</i>."</p><p> </p><p>Hide drags Kaneki to the school dance and saves his ass, quite literally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Familiar Face

**Author's Note:**

> based on my actual experience w/ homecoming this year in which I am Kaneki and this actually happened to me except it was a guy and i had no friends to save me
> 
> lmao just punt me off a cliff already
> 
> i apologize in advance for this terrible cliched piece of shit train wreck
> 
> Kaneki is a little sassier than usual here bc he's fourteen forgive him

Kaneki tugged uncomfortably at his tie, awkwardly standing aside from the massive crowd.

_Honestly, why do I let Hide talk me into anything..._

He shifted his weight from one foot to another, already sick of his too-small dress shoes, wishing he could fade into the wall. Everyone dancing seemed so confident and put-together, and Kaneki just felt gangly and out of place. Scanning the writhing crowd, every body indistinguishable from those next to it, he desperately searched for the only familiar face he knew was present.

He quickly found it, but instead of being in the crowd, Hide's face appeared mere inches from his. 

Kaneki didn't think he'd jumped higher when they ran hurdles in gym last week.

"Geez, scare me to death much?" gasped Kaneki.

"You actually showed up!" Hide looked his friend up and down, nodding. "Looking more like you're dressed for church than a dance, but! You're here!"

Crossing his arms over his vest, the brunette muttered, "I didn't have much to work with. Shut up." He glanced around the room, sighing. "Is it okay for me to take off my shoes? They're killing me."

"Yeah." Hide's tone was breezy. "I think the library's open if you want somewhere to put them."

His gray eyes widened, and Hide instantly knew he'd made a mistake.

"Kaneki."

"...What?"

Hide placed his arms squarely on his friend's shoulders. "You are not spending the first dance of your first year of high school in the _library_."

"But-"

"Tell me you're not," pleaded Hide. "You gotta dance at least a little."

Puffing out his cheeks, Kaneki relented, "Fine. But there's absolutely no way I can ask anyone to dance, and nobody's gonna ask me, so it probably won't happen. Just a heads up."

Hide took a step back, his hands in the air. " _Sassy._ "

With a sigh, Kaneki mumbled, "Go dance and have fun. Dork." After Hide saluted and bounded off after some poor junior, the raven-haired boy kicked off his shoes and picked them up, wandering to the library to put them in safekeeping. 

As he stepped inside, inhaling the familiar scents of paper and ink, Kaneki wondered if he really should hole himself up in the library the whole time. _It would be kinda sad, though,_ he mused. _It's too loud to read anyway._

He set his shoes aside and left, flinching at the thumping bass, heading for the refreshments. As he reached for a cup of punch, however, Hide popped up behind him without warning (again) and swatted his hand away, narrowly avoiding spilling the drink.

Straightening his spine, Kaneki sputtered, "Hide, what the hell?"

His brown eyes were wide, darting from side to side like he was preparing to share classified information. "Tanaka-kun told me it was spiked!"

"Hide." Kaneki's voice and expression were deadpan. "It's not. Everyone's just acting like it is. There are teachers everywhere, there's no way."

Hide grabbed up the cup that he'd almost knocked over just a moment ago and took a sip, his eyes somehow growing even wider. "Nope, it's definitely sweeter! That's how you tell-"

"It's _not_ ," Kaneki hissed between his teeth, giving a significant look to the chaperone not three meters from them. Shrugging, Hide grabbed the cup and downed the drink inside.

"Come with me to the dance floor, 'neki! Loosen up!"

"No way." Kaneki crossed his arms, retreating into himself. "I can't dance, and even if I could, I wouldn't. Too many people staring..."

Hide sighed, "I knew this would happen. Whatever, I'm gonna go drop some sick beats!" He danced a little where he stood, prompting Kaneki to distance himself by a step, eye twitching. _He really thinks he's drunk....psychology, huh._

"I don't even think that's a dancing term, Hide."

"You know what I meant!" Laughing, the golden-haired boy twirled off giddily. "Let me know when you're ready to have actual fun!"

Kaneki grabbed a cup of water and slumped into a nearby chair, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand. Sighing, he checked his watch. _9:12...that's a little less than two hours left to live through..._

Someone slid into the seat next to him, and Kaneki jumped, nearly spilling his drink.

"All alone?"

The girl was undeniably stunning, with glossy, curly black hair, bright green eyes, a sharp nose and high cheekbones, and a low-cut dress. She looked easily old enough to be a senior, and Kaneki didn't recognize her at all.

The girl leaned closer, and Kaneki tensed, gripping his cup harder. In an attempt to remove the lump in his throat, he swallowed hard and mumbled, "Y-yeah, I'm alone...I'm, um, a freshman."

"You're a cute one." She took Kaneki's pale hand in her own and raised it to her ivory lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. Kaneki shivered. Her skin was ice cold.

"Dance with me."

There was no inflection on her words; it was a demand rather than a request.

She was certainly beautiful, but something about the way she carried herself was unsettling. The way the light reflected off her piercing green eyes brought to Kaneki's mind images of forbidden treasures from adventure novels, of emeralds worth a fortune that only lead explorers to their demise.

He didn't want to dance with her. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to say no.

Remembering Hide's plea for him to dance at least once, Kaneki swallowed hard and nodded.

"O-okay. But I don't really know how-"

"I'll lead." Her porcelain hand still cradling Kaneki's, she pulled the smaller boy up to a standing position. "Just follow my feet."

In an instant, Kaneki's arms were swept above her shoulders and her hands slid to his lower waist. He was at chest level with her, so he quickly averted his eyes, instead staring at the ground to make sure he was stepping correctly with her.

"Do you have a name?" The girl pulled Kaneki into a dip when the song didn't call for one, startling him.

"It's, uh, it's K-Kaneki...Kaneki Ken...what's y-yours...?" He silently cursed himself and his shaky voice, unsure what it was about the stranger that made him so nervous.

"Call me Tomomi." Subtly, her hands slipped lower on his back, and Kaneki tensed, stumbling in his quick step.

"You're _so_ cute, Kaneki-chan," Tomomi drawled, drawing out all the vowels in the sentence. "So cute and adorable..."

Her hands slipped lower, and Kaneki squeezed his eyes shut.

_She's, she's, she's grabbing my...I don't like this...I don't want this...._

Kaneki opened his mouth to protest, but the words he wanted to find became lodged in his throat, blocking anything but a small, panicked noise, inaudible under the thumping bass.

The hands squeezed, long nails digging uncomfortably into his ass, and Kaneki made another sound of distress, not knowing how to get away, how to get her to _stop touching him_.

He opened his eyes, desperately looking over Tomomi's shoulder for a reason to excuse himself, when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a fluffy golden-brown head of hair, dancing with a group of friends.

He managed to catch Hide's eyes, and his friend gave him a double thumbs up.

Kaneki shook his head, his eyes wide, and mouthed ' _help me_ '.

The change in Hide's demeanor was instant and startling. Breaking off from the large crowd, he stormed over and tapped Tomomi sharply on the shoulder, causing the senior to-thank god-let go of Kaneki.

"What is it?" The senior's voice was sharp and irritated. 

Hide crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you think you're doing with my boyfriend?"

"Boyf-" Kaneki cut himself off as he understood what Hide was playing at, his cheeks dusting with pink.

Tomomi's eyelids dropped to cover her eyes halfway, giving her a bored, disinterested air. " _Boyfriend_ ," she stated, her voice dripping with suspicion and sarcasm.

"Yep, boyfriend." Hide's grin was bright and nonchalant. "And I'd appreciate it if you let me keep him for myself."

She stared the smaller pair of boys down, clearly skeptical.

Hide tilted his head and quickly touched his lips against Kaneki's, light as a feather.

It felt....nice.

"Hm." The suspicion dropped from Tomomi's tone, leaving only irritation. Without a word, she turned on her heel and weaved deep into the crowd.

"You alright?" Hide's hands held Kaneki's shaking shoulders steady. "All your limbs intact?"

"I-um-" Kaneki averted his eyes, his face red, feeling horrible for pulling his friend away from his group just because he felt uneasy. "Yeah. Sorry, I just-she was just making me uncomfortable, I should've-"

Brown eyes gazed seriously into Kaneki's. "Did she touch you?"

"She, um...she g-grabbed my ass." Swallowing nervously, he met Hide's eyes shakily, only for them to be obscured from his view as his friend pulled Kaneki into a hug.

"You know you can say no, right? You don't have to put up with that. You can ask her to stop if you get uncomfortable."

Kaneki sighed softly into Hide's fluffy hair, returning the hug. "I didn't want to hurt her feelings-"

"It's your feelings that matter, Kaneki." The golden-haired boy pulled back, looking into his friend's gray eyes.

"Just to be clear-" A slight blush returned to Kaneki's pale cheeks. "You were joking, right?"

Hide smirked, "Only if you want me to be."

After a moment's hesitation, Kaneki pressed his lips firmly against Hide's.

"I guess you were serious," murmured Kaneki, pulling back.

"I guess so."

Hide's expression was affectionate, breezy, and gentle, all in one, while Kaneki was certain he looked like a train wreck.

"Hey." Hide moved his hand from Kaneki's shoulder to catch the other boy's.

His brown eyes were dancing happily, and Kaneki felt a little bit at ease for the first time since he'd arrived.

"May I have this dance?"

**Author's Note:**

> the punch wasn't spiked
> 
> in other news: Why do you people still put up with my horrible cliche writing


End file.
